The New York Yankees are desperate to keep up in the division after dealing with a tough trip and although they were able to pull out the second game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team is looking at their series against the San Diego Padres as a must-win, especially with Alex Rodriguez's suspension likely coming soon.
The team is dealing with enough drama to fill a tabloid when it comes to Rodriguez and the Yanks will put CC Sabathia on the mound on Friday, but recently that is not a sure thing, as he has given up seven runs in each of his last three starts, the first time he has done that in his career. The Yankees get back outfielder Curtis Granderson after he was out for about half the season while breaking his hand twice and now it will be most hands on deck for the team.
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Rodriguez is playing in rehab games and he is hoping to get back on the club roster before he is suspended, but that may take some time as reports say that he may get a lifetime ban and is working on an agreement deal with the MLB. Everth Cabrera could also be hit with a suspension for the Padres and that could be a he blow to the team, as they just acquired starter Ian Kennedy from the Diamondbacks and feel that they can get back into the playoff hunt for the Wild Card. Cabrera has been their best player and leads the team in hits and runs and is first in stolen bases.
Granderson has been out for quite some time and now that Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano are in the lineup, the Yankees look stronger than they have in months. Baseball may wait until Monday to hand down the suspensions and now Granderson returns after hitting 43 home runs last season for the Yankees and they sure could sue the power, as the team has an American League worst .368 slugging percentage and just 91 home runs a season after they almost led the league in the same category.
Petco Park is not the best place to hit home runs and now the Yankees will try and get a win on Friday after splitting two games with the Dodgers in LA. The Padres will throw Andrew Cashner on Friday night and he is looking for his third win in the past three starts, while Sabathia is hoping for just a decent performance. The ace of the Yankee staff has not been one this season and he is 9-9 this year with a 4.65 and the Yankees are hoping he can bring that down in the second half of the season. The two teams do not meet much and Carlos Quentin has the most at-bats against him, getting four hits in 22 tries.
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